Some years ago I read a highly favourable Sunday Times review of Tragically Hip’s album PHANTOM POWER (when the Times had some musical credibility) and so went out and bought it. I didn’t like it and never acquired another one. That was before I ‘got involved with music’ and realised that an album should be listened to at least a couple of times before one comes to a final and fair conclusion. A few days ago a bunch of CDs artrived through the letterbox including the latest Tragically Hip album. My mind wondered back to the days when CDs were generally selling for around £16 and PHANTOM POWER… Being older and wiser I listened to the new album for the first time and thought ‘not bad.’ Then I listened to it again and thought ‘this is friggin’ fantastic.’

As I’ve said many times before in ‘09, it’s been an amazing release year so far - one of the best I can remember - and there’s still another 6 months of it to go! I really worry about running out of complementary words and having to use another language altogether… WE ARE THE SAME ranks as one of the best releases in this excellent year and I’ll tell you why in a few words: It has everything.

The Tragically Hip hail from Canada, land of great and distinctive musicians, and on searching Amazon for some item number links found that this band must have been continuingly recording since Hyde Park was a flower pot. I actually stopped listing at album 7 as my budget will not stretch any further. You see after listening to this mutha how can I now ignore the rest…?

Opener ‘Morning Moon’ is pleasant enough single fodder; in truth it’s actually a bit better than that but only the tip of a fathom-deep, still solid iceberg. It has a great melody, friendly country rock vibe, easy vocal and good lyrics. ‘Honey Please’ is a slice of the same  albeit with a more powerful chorus and nice piano moments. Then it starts to get serious… ‘The Last Recluse’ sounds as if a producer with a sound quality concience has taken over. The vocal oozes expression and clarity, the instrumental arrangement is monumental, the vocal harmonies are extraordinary, the melody gartantuan and the vibe melancholy and moving.

‘Coffee Girl’ wanders from being stark to epic sonically with choruses bursting with pop sensibility. There’s flashes of horn solos and a rock steady rhythm. And just when you thought it was safe to go into the water, ‘Now The Struggle Has A Name.’ Ringing guitar notes and a talking-pace vocal hint at something really special arriving soon. And it does. The voice suddenly soars, the instruments follow and then a lonely country guitar wails. Then another slow-moving verse starts and begins to build to another hair-raising crescendo. Then a Beatle-esque killer instrumental passage arrives before the vocal crashes through the sound-barrier to leave one breathless and affected by the song’s emotive and sincere sentiments. This is epic pop rock at its supreme best and a potential chart buster in anyone’s language. It’s plain awesome.

This album has more than its fair share of great songs and performances so I’ll pick more highlights. ‘The Exact Feeling’  has a distinctive and original edge where the vocal is cleverly out of sync with the relentless instrumental backdrop. Clever and fabulous. ‘Speed River’ is an epic musical rollercoaster that dives and soars around a monstrous melody, and deft changes of pace. ‘Frozen In My Tracks’ has a darker vibe where the vocal moves at a faster pace than the snapping snares, before soaring backing vocals enter and take the song somewhere else, along with the angry solo vocal.  A stunning rock song with guitar riffs taking a front seat for the first time - this is one song I didn’t want to end. ‘Love Is A First’ expores human weaknesses with such power where guitars again take centre stage and some interesting speech arrives to underline the song’s central love failure theme. Another fabulous rock tune. ‘Country Day’ completes the album on a lighter note and then changes its mind to become angry and frantic before sinking back to contemplation. Then the proces starts again in rocky style. What a way to end an album…

I cannot fault this album. It inspires and excites. It’s epic in scale. It’s diverse musically and highly accessible. It’s full of potential hit singles. It’s awesome!

5/5